In 1959, Barbie and the float glass process were born. Turns out, Barbie was born a teenage fashion model and Sir Alastair Pilkington's invention of floating molten glass on a bed of molten tin spawned several competitive offspring. But that's not all a doll and an industry have in common.

Officials from Pilkington North America, Toledo, Ohio, announced an increase in the clarity of its Pilkington Energy Advantage low-E glass. The advancement in the pyrolytic coating technology reduces the haze value to a level so low that it is difficult to perceive, according to a release.

Architects of the Palomar Medical Center West, Escondido, Calif., specified 22 types of glass on the 736,000-square-foot, $615 million hospital, set for completion this year. The various glass types provide performance, safety, light transmittance and aesthetics.